Is the 2019 NBA Draft class the best from the last decade?
Absolutely not.
As a matter of fact, we will argue today that it is actually the worst NBA Draft class over the past 10 years, at least for now.
For starters, we need to lay out the premise. As of writing, we have yet to see the the prospects from the 2019 class play one full season. Unfortunately for them, their respective debut campaigns were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
As such, the value of the players coming from the 2019 class has yet to be determined at this point, and they truly won't be determined for quite some time. Nevertheless, when you compare them to the other nine classes over the past decade, there's no denying that 2019 pales in comparison.
So far, the best two players of the 2019 NBA Draft class include Ja Morant (second overall pick) of the Memphis Grizzlies (the favorite for Rookie of the Year) and Zion Williamson (first overall) of the New Orleans Pelicans, who missed a big chunk of his rookie year because of a knee injury. These two are without a doubt a couple of the most promising future superstars in the NBA, but beyond them, the rest of the class is not as talent-packed as previous batches.
Other prominent members of the 2019 class include Kenrick Nunn (undrafted) of the Miami Heat, Eric Paschall (41st overall) of the Golden State Warriors, Coby White (seventh) of the Chicago Bulls, and RJ Barrett (third) of the New York Knicks, to name a few. All are undeniably talented and have a ton of promise, but it remains to be seen if any of these guys have coronerstone superstar potential.
Now let's take a look at some of the best selections coming from each of the other nine NBA Draft classes.
2018: Luka Doncic (third pick), Trae Young (fifth)
2017: Jayson Tatum (third), De'Aaron Fox (fifth), Donovan Mitchell (13th)
2016: Ben Simmons (first), Brandon Ingram (second), Jaylen Brown (third). This class recently wasn't looking so hot, but it's starting to come on strong, especially once you consider that guys like Buddy Hield (sixth), Domantas Sabonis (11th), and Jamal Murray (seventh) are also part of the 2016 class.
2015: Karl-Anthony Towns (first), D'Angelo Russell (second), Kristaps Porzingis (fourth), Devin Booker (13th)
2014: Andrew Wiggins (first), Joel Embiid (third), Nikola Jokic (41st)
2013: Victor Oladipo (second), Giannis Antetokounmpo (15th), Rudy Gobert (27th). This draft didn't look great at the time, but Giannis and Gobert blossoming into stars saved it.
2012: Anthony Davis (first), Bradley Beal (third), Damian Lillard (sixth), Draymond Green (35th)
2011: Kyrie Irving (first), Klay Thompson (11th), Kawhi Leonard (15th), Jimmy Butler (30th). We're taking this one as the best draft class of the best decade, by the way.
2010: John Wall (first), DeMarcus Cousins (fifth), Gordon Hayward (ninth), Paul George (10th)
As you can see, each of the other classes has at least one bona fide NBA superstar representing it — and that's just the top three or four players of each class. With the exception of the 2016 class, we haven't even mentioned the other “second tier” guys of each of the above draft classes.
This is definitely where the 2019 class falls from grace. Zion and Morant are surely going to be amazing players, but again, there's not much behind them — at least for the time being.
It's a fair declaration that the 2019 class is ranked as the worst class of the decade simply by default. Simply put, we just haven't seen enough from these guys as of yet. There's always a possibility of one or two studs coming out of the 2019 class (outside Williamson and Morant) all of a sudden experience a rapid development over the next few years that will propel them to superstar status. This has certainly happened before (see Jokic from 2014 and Butler from 2011, for instance).
However, until this happens, the 2019 NBA Draft class will remain to be the most uninspiring class of the past decade — all things considered.
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